Edited by guitarist Trey Anastasio in the late '80s, this compilation of early demos and four-track experiments was sold by the band at early performances.
After going out of print, the collection (known as The White Tape) informally circulated among fans for years before being officially released by the band in 1998.
The band itself only appears on five of the disc's 16 tracks ("Alumni Blues," "You Enjoy Myself," "AC/DC Bag," "Dog Gone Dog," and "Letter to Jimmy Page").
The rest of the album is comprised of songs recorded by Anastasio and his high school friends (including future Phish collaborator and Amfibian founder Tom Marshall and the Dude of Life, with whom Phish would record 1991's Crimes of the Mind) as well as several tongue-impaled-in-cheek cuts created by bassist Mike Gordon.
The music is decidedly amateurish, but contains a certain charm that comes only with recordings made in dorm rooms and suburban basements.
Pieces such as "Fluff's Travels" and the vocal-only arrangement of the future Phish standard "You Enjoy Myself" hint at the complexity the band would soon embrace and invest the album with a historical interest.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alumni BluesTrey Anastasio | Phish | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | And So to BedTrey Anastasio | Phish | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | You Enjoy MyselfTrey Anastasio | Phish | Play | 00:55 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 4 | Fuck Your FaceMike Gordon | Phish | Play | 02:15 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 5 | Slave to the Traffic LightTrey Anastasio, The Dude of Life | Phish | Play | 04:35 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 6 | AftermathTrey Anastasio, Roger Halloway | Phish | Play | 02:54 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 7 | IngestTrey Anastasio | Phish | Play | 01:37 | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| 8 | NO2Mike Gordon | Phish | Play | 07:37 | 17 MB | 46 MB |
| 9 | Fluff's TravelsTrey Anastasio | Phish | Play | 01:22 | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| 10 | Dog Gone DogTrey Anastasio | Phish | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 11 | He Ent to the BogMike Gordon, Dan McBride | Phish | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 12 | MinkinMike Gordon | Phish | Play | 02:59 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 13 | Letter to Jimmy PageTrey Anastasio | Phish | Play | 01:16 | 2 MB | 7 MB |
| 14 | Divided Sky | Phish | Play | 01:16 | 2 MB | 8 MB |
| 43 mins | 100 MB | |||||
| 43 mins | 271 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Abrahams | Vocals |
| 2 | Trey Anastasio | Artwork, Bass, Composer, Cover Art, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Various Instruments, Vocals |
| 3 | Cynthia Brown | Packaging |
| 4 | Becca Buxbaum | Flute, Vocals |
| 5 | Lillian Cherry | Vocals |
| 6 | Jason Colton | Packaging |
| 7 | Pete Cottone | Drums |
| 8 | Richard D'Amato | Vocals |
| 9 | Marc Daubert | Vocals |
| 10 | The Dude of Life | Composer |
| 11 | Jonathan Fishman | Drums, Vocals |
| 12 | David Gordon | Vocals |
| 13 | Mike Gordon | Bass, Bongos, Composer, Generator, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Telephone Samples, Vocals |
| 14 | Roger Halloway | Composer, Finger Picking |
| 15 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 16 | Tom Marshall | Vocals |
| 17 | Dan McBride | Composer, Guitar |
| 18 | Page McConnell | Fender Rhodes, Vocals |
| 19 | Marge Minkin | Vocals |
| 20 | John Paluska | Management |
| 21 | Phish | Primary Artist |
| 22 | Jim Pollock | Illustrations |
| 23 | Beth Montuori Rowles | Production Assistant |
| 24 | Kevin Shapiro | Production Assistant |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |